On Russell Wilson. Last week he became the first rookie in NFL history to have a QB rating above 125 3 straight weeks. He set the rookie record with 16 straight completions last week. He has the 2nd highest QB rating in the NFL since week 5 behind Tom Brady. He's thrown less than half as many INT's as he has TD's. in the past 6 weeks he's thrown 12 TD's and 2 INT's, if he continues on that TD pace for the last 5 games, he will break Peyton Manning's rookie passing TD record of 26. He has a QB rating of 93 for the season and has completed 63% of his passes. I dont remember his ranking, but his red zone efficiency is I believe top 3 in the NFL since week 5.

It seems like nobody takes into account that he's a rookie. Especially at the beginning of the year. It also seems like everybody wrote him off for his career in week 5 (or earlier) and then stopped paying attention. He leads the team like a veteran, and is playing like a veteran.

On Golden Tate. He's had a couple really bad games this year. I almost wanted him cut not too long ago. But aside from those couple games, he has played great and really is a playmaker. He had a 41 yard TD against GB (but all anyone remembers is the final play) a 51 yard catch against NE, a 38 yard TD against the Jets and a 32 yard catch against the Dolphins. But he's really more dangerous on bubble screens than anything. Go to the last 2 posts on page 3 of the NFL GIF thread to see some of his playmaking ability.

But nobody here actually watches the Seahawks, so it's not like you should know any of this.

Look, don't say Wilson has had the 2nd highest QB rating since week 5. You can't dice and slice an NFL season like that.
Wilson currently is not among the top 10 passer rated QBs in the NFL.
You can't cut out week 5 stats like Wilson hasn't been the starter all season long, when in fact he has.

I will say if Tannehill/RG3/Luck/Weeden were first round picks, in hindsight Wilson should have been too.

Look, don't say Wilson has had the 2nd highest QB rating since week 5. You can't dice and slice an NFL season like that.
Wilson currently is not among the top 10 passer rated QBs in the NFL.
You can't cut out week 5 stats like Wilson hasn't been the starter all season long, when in fact he has.

I will say if Tannehill/RG3/Luck/Weeden were first round picks, in hindsight Wilson should have been too.

That stat is simply to show his improvement since everyone wrote him off.

And you're right, he's merely the 11th rated passer in the NFL, just ahead of Drew Brees.

Russell Wilson is only averaging 186.5 yards per game. Which is fine. He's not necessarily the focal point of their offense, and he's a rookie. His rating is high, but the Seahawks from what I've seen aren't necessarily putting a lot on his plate. Reminds me of Steve McNair's first few years in the NFL. And him being ahead of Drew Brees in passer rating doesn't really mean anything.

can we stop playing with stats now? a fair number of people have seen the guy play.

this. also this.

too much over reliance on stats in determining the quality of players in general (not just this thread, not just this site). i'd be more interested in actually hearing insights gathered from watching games rather than another argument a computer program is capable of making.

Tate's been really good this year. He has 5.4 receiving TDs and 1 passing TD with a 13.0 avg on a team that doesn't throw much.

As for Wilson, he's improved, and his development is far from over.

For this season, they can win with him, but I remain skeptical they can win BECAUSE of him. I think that's what njx is saying too.

But going forward, I don't doubt he can improve and become a very good player.

The concerns about his height are legitimate. He is not effective in a straight drop-back. That's why they have him in gun or out of the pocket. Very rarely does he take a 5-step drop and hit something over the middle. It worries me.

What irks me is his lack of aggressiveness as a runner and tendency to run backwards in the pocket rather than stepping up (which I think is tied to his height).

But overall I'm happy with him. He's improved from game 1 to now drastically. His deep ball is very good for a young player. And he doesn't take unnecessary risks. And he's cool, calm, collected always.

I suppose I'm not buying Kaepernick yet. I mean... Alex Smith was doing remarkably well before Kaepernick stepped in. It's the QB-friendliest team in the NFL.

Alex Smith completed 60% of his passes and +10 TD to INT the 2 years before Harbaugh.

And team was not good.

Those teams were lacking in...
Coaching
O-Line
Pass Targets

Some QBs suck or implode in circumstances where 2 out of 3 are bad.

John Skelton
Matt Cassel
Mark Sanchez

2011 had to come in with the new staff in an abbreviated time due to lockup.
The O-Line still had a cancer at RG and RT was still looking his age.
Crabtree didn't get practice in due to foot acting up again.
#2 and #3 WRs ended the season with 15 catches each. IR and Cut.
Didn't have a Victor Cruz to set up. Had Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams.
Were also kind enough to drop passes at a rate only surpasses by a couple teams.

A very efficient game manager is an accomplishment under those circumstances.

But whatever. It's just Alex Smith.

I don't expect non 49ers fans to know or care. The problem is the segment of ignorant 49er fans.
Their stupidity/hate has blinded them to it could always be worse.
Just look outside at your neighbor. And they can't even see that.

I was half-joking, so I accept the validity of your response. Over the last few years I've alternately defended Smith and compared prospects to him when I think people are overestimating how much their college "intangibles" are going to carry over into the NFL; players who will play fine in the NFL, but shouldn't be taken no. 1 overall. I compared Sam Bradford to Alex Smith over and over again when he was headed for no. 1 overall, and often people took it as an insult. But in retrospect, I think that's been a pretty fair comparison. And maybe picking them no. 1 overall isn't such a bad thing - they haven't been bad.

But Kapernick's got a few things that are hard to come by, exceeding Smith by far in terms of running ability, is a bit bigger, and there's no question whose arm is stronger. If Alex Smith is more accurate, is he more accurate enough that it counts for more than everything else? It's hard to argue Smith has a better head on his shoulders, because regardless of what his wonderlic was, I've watched Alex Smith make some of the most bone-headed decisions under heavy pressure that I've ever seen. Who knows, maybe he would've led the 49ers to a Super Bowl this year. But it seems like the best you can really say of him is that he did a pretty good job of turning it around after a couple seasons when he was in the running for biggest bust of all time. Turning into a competent QB isn't a reason to keep a talented youngster on the bench, and we all know how stats arguments go.

Alex Smith completed 60% of his passes and +10 TD to INT the 2 years before Harbaugh.

And team was not good.

Those teams were lacking in...
Coaching
O-Line
Pass Targets

Some QBs suck or implode in circumstances where 2 out of 3 are bad.

John Skelton
Matt Cassel
Mark Sanchez

2011 had to come in with the new staff in an abbreviated time due to lockup.
The O-Line still had a cancer at RG and RT was still looking his age.
Crabtree didn't get practice in due to foot acting up again.
#2 and #3 WRs ended the season with 15 catches each. IR and Cut.
Didn't have a Victor Cruz to set up. Had Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams.
Were also kind enough to drop passes at a rate only surpasses by a couple teams.

A very efficient game manager is an accomplishment under those circumstances.

But whatever. It's just Alex Smith.

I don't expect non 49ers fans to know or care. The problem is the segment of ignorant 49er fans.
Their stupidity/hate has blinded them to it could always be worse.
Just look outside at your neighbor. And they can't even see that.

That's funny because the teams of those 3 QB's you listed had absolutely no interest in Alex Smith what so ever, and have some of the worst QB situations in the league by far. I've never seen a good QB hit unrestricted free agency and get no interest at all, but now everyone wants to assume he's something that he's not.

He was a former #1 overall pick that nobody wanted anything to do with a few months ago. Miami, KC, Arizona, NYJ, or anyone else without a QB. I remember a lot of these exact same arguments when Matt Cassel was starting in NE, maybe we should pull up more of his stats that year, or talk about how it wasn't his fault that they didn't make the playoffs, that surely means he's good enough.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.